


Next stop: Love

by Auurii, KatrinaRice



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Eventual Smut, Fluff, M/M, bus driver Erwin, cleaner Levi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-14 20:20:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29424474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Auurii/pseuds/Auurii, https://archiveofourown.org/users/KatrinaRice/pseuds/KatrinaRice
Summary: A new cleaning job forces Levi to take a different bus to work early in the morning. And since day one he is completely weirded out by the blond bus driver, asking himself how—in the world—anybody could be this happy when having to drive a bus at such ungodly hours. And pretty soon Levi is also asking himself why—in the world—he can’t take his eyes off the way too cheerful man.
Relationships: Levi/Erwin Smith
Comments: 15
Kudos: 76





	Next stop: Love

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys,
> 
> welcome to our short bus driver AU! There is art to follow, so stay tuned and follow us on Twitter:
> 
> [Auri](https://twitter.com/regularbrot)  
> [Kat](https://twitter.com/Katrina__Rice)

**_Art by[Hel](https://twitter.com/ackersmitherene)_ **

Levi is not necessarily a morning person. Which doesn’t mean that he has a problem with getting up at 3.30 in the morning, leaving the house just half an hour later, walking through his godforsaken neighbourhood when the majority of people are still asleep. No. Levi’s fine with that. He also doesn’t have a problem with keeping his eyes open. He’s not tired at this time of day—but he’s not exactly full of energy either when it comes to human interaction so early in the morning. Well, _any_ time of day actually.

So when the front door of the bus opens and Levi gets in for his first drive on line 13, that will from now on take him to his new working place everyday—a huge office complex in the city where he’ll be in charge of cleaning the business rooms of three companies—and he is greeted with a way too cheerful and way too loud “Good morning to you!”, he’s immediately fed up. 

Shoving his hand into the pocket of his jacket and grunting a short response, Levi fishes out his bus ticket to flash it to the driver, a required check to actually board the bus—and that’s when his eardrum almost bursts.

“Thank you so much, sir!” the bus driver nearly _bellows_ , still way too joyful, still way too loud, and Levi’s seriously asking himself, how in the fucking _hell_ someone can be _this_ happy before dawn, driving a fucking bus. The guy must be young and new to job, still enthusiastic and-

The man’s definitely _not_ young, Levi realises as he finally _really_ looks at him. At the blond, probably _really_ tall man with a very prominent nose, big eyes—blue?—and fair, blond hair styled into a fashionable, neatly trimmed undercut. He’s not _old_ either, not a grandpa. Levi deems the man to be around his age, at the end of his 30s; maybe he’s also at the beginning of his forties. His body—as far as Levi can tell right now—is just a little bit chubby. But not enough to call him fat. Strangely, it suits him. But what irritates Levi the most is the man’s _smile_. 

It’s a big smile, a warm smile, one that doesn’t seem fake. It’s weirdly handsome. 

That’s what makes it so annoying. Because _the man_ is annoying.

“Wow!” the bus driver exclaims. “I’m super thrilled! You’re not only my first passenger today, but actually the first person I have _ever_ picked up at this stop on my tour. I’m super happy about that!”

...and Levi is asking himself, if this guy might actually be somewhat mentally impaired. Because who even _says_ stuff like that?

“Uh, yeah, whatever,” he mumbles, walking down the, indeed, empty bus. The empty and clean bus; and that’s somewhat of a relief. 

“Pick any seat you like and make yourself comfortable!” the driver calls after him, and Levi can’t control himself, rolling his eyes, feeling the straight opposite of comfortable, choosing to venture to the very back of the single-decker bus—as far away from the blond driver as possible, fearing the talkative man would want to chat with him the whole bloody time; and Levi will be on this bus for 25 fucking minutes.

He can see the man looking at him, through one of the big mirrors installed at the top of the big, wide windshield, enabling bus drivers to take a look at what’s happening behind them without turning around; and when Levi catches the blond taking a glimpse at him, the driver smiles that smile again—way too happy—and even fucking _waves_. And Levi feels super fucking weird. 

“Fuck this,” he mutters, putting on his headphones, starting his favourite rock song playlist, forcing himself to stare out of the window.

However, curiosity is a bitch, and Levi can’t resist, letting his gaze wander to the front of the bus—and the driver—way too many times during his long drive. And he was absolutely right with his assessment: that guy, mentally impaired or not, is a freaking, way too cheerful, way too eager _chitchatter_.

Levi witnesses him actually greeting every person that gets on the bus, with that big smile on that big face of his. Every single passenger. Who the fuck _does_ that?! And what is even worse than that: Most of the people boarding the bus seem to be actually _charmed_ by whatever the blond guy is telling them; they’re reciprocating his smile, greeting him like he was an old friend. And maybe he is? But then why did he welcome Levi so enthusiastically? On board of a fucking bus. 

Shaking his head, irritated and slightly weirded out, Levi stares out of the window again—and misses his stop.

“Oh shit!” he curses, jumping up instinctively as the bus is already moving away from his destination. “Fuck,” he curses, tearing down his headphones and pushing one of the STOP-buttons that signals the driver to definitely stop at the next station; but the blond man behind the wheel reacts immediately, stopping just after a few seconds, opening the back door at which Levi is already standing even though there is no bus stop.

“You’re welcome! Have a nice day!” the bus driver announces through the speaker, still cheerful, his tone warm and not in any way sarcastic, and the other handful of present passengers turn their heads towards Levi, most of them smiling. Just like the bus driver is—Levi can see that smile in the big mirror again and he-

He gets off the bus, mumbling a “thank you” the blond man can’t even hear, and when the bus drives off again, Levi feels somewhat… strange.

He doesn’t stop feeling strange during the first week of his job. Or rather, whenever he’s _on his_ _way_ to his new job, always boarding the bus of line 13 at 4.15, driven by that blond, strange man, who seems to be in high spirits every fucking morning, greeting Levi with that big smile plastered across his face, already telling him on day two that he doesn’t have to flash him his one-year-ticket when Levi starts reaching for it in his pocket.

“I know you’re good,” he tells him, practically beaming, and Levi furrows his brows.

“...okay…”

“How’s the new job?” the man asks him on day three, and Levi’s furrowing his brows again.

“How the fuck do you know?” it slips out faster—and far more grimly—than intended. But the man isn’t taken aback, he just chuckles. And somewhat it’s adorable, and Levi instantly hates himself for this trail of thought and-

“Since I haven’t you seen you before on my early tour, and now it’s the third day in a row you’re taking my bus, it was highly probable for you to have found a new job that requires you to either take a few busses earlier than before, or to switch to this line from a different one,” he answers cheerfully.

“Huh…” Levi grunts, contemplating the answer, which sounds quite reasonable.

“So?” the blond man asks, while already pushing the button that closes the door behind Levi. “How is it?” he adds, placing his hands on the big steering wheel, without driving off yet, looking at Levi with those big—and definitely very blue—eyes, still smiling his usual smile.

“Uh… shitty. But the pay’s good.”

The man laughs out. And it’s an honest laugh.

“Good for you,” he then says, without actually requiring to know what Levi does for a living. And somehow that’s quite pleasant. 

“Uh… I’m gonna…” Levi mutters, gesturing towards the back of the bus, and the driver’s nodding, while smiling.

“Enjoy the ride, I’ll deliver you safely to _St. Mary’s square_ ,” the driver announces, and for a second Levi is confused that the guy actually remembers where Levi has to get off; and he’s immediately asking himself whether the man knows everybody’s stop. And if he did—would Levi be impressed or should he be more freaked out, since it would make the blond seem like some kind of stalker…? 

Levi can’t decide, once more taking a seat at the end of the bus, putting on his headphones and starting up his music.

During his second week on the bus steered by the blond, slightly chubby, weirdly charismatic man—Levi can’t deny that about him anymore—the black-haired catches himself staring at the man in question basically the whole time, watching his everyday interactions with his passengers, regulars sort of. Because everyday the same group of people boards the man’s bus.

There’s a handyman Levi assumes to be in his fifties, who gets on the bus one stop after him, already in his working clothes, and who actually greets the driver with a handshake. There’s the granny boarding the bus next, always carrying a big bag of fuck knows what, beaming at the blond bus driver as if he was her grandson—and maybe he is? There’s also the two nurses who always look tired and still manage to smile at the bus driver when they get on at the hospital station, probably after their shifts. There’s also that older lad, in his 70s probably, with a walking cane and hat, who tips his hat when he greets the driver and lifts it slightly when greeting the granny with the big bag; like a true, old school gentleman.

And even if Levi still listens to his music, there’s quite a lot of things he picks up on by just watching.

How the driver grasps the handyman’s hand to shake it, welcoming the gesture, sometimes even clapping his arm while talking to him; an act of encouragement. How he prolongs his stay at the stop the older woman gets on—actually waiting for her every other day if she’s not already there, knowing she’s rather late than absent, smiling cheerfully when she comes running towards the bus after a minute or two, already waving from outside, bursting into the bus, laughing and probably thanking the man a thousand times. Levi takes note of how the driver bows his head when the two nurses enter, showing well-earned respect for them. How he makes sure the older gentleman with the walking cane is seated properly before driving off again, making sure there is no risk of the man actually tripping and falling, like Levi’s seen happening so many times because so many drivers just don’t give a shit.

But this driver is different. And Levi can’t help but to be curious about him.

When Levi boards the bus during his third week on the new job, as always greeted cheerfully by the blond man behind the steering wheel, his headphones remain in his bag, and he also doesn’t sit down at the very back, but chooses a spot in the middle. And he listens.

He listens to the bus driver ask the handyman if he gave that osteopath a ring he recommended, and the older man lights up, informing the driver that he, indeed, has an appointment scheduled for next week. “Thanks so much for giving me the doc’s details!” the older man thanks him.

Levi listens to the driver welcoming the granny, asking her about a certain Armin and Eren, and if they liked their new toys, at which the old woman starts laughing, telling the driver about the huge fun her grandsons had with those toys, searching for something in her big bag until she finds what she’s looking for: a cookie jar.

“This is for you,” she nearly exclaims, her voice just as cheerful as the bus driver’s, as she hands it over to him. “Eren and Armin made them. To thank you for all the beautiful toys you’ve given them!”

“Oh, Hilda!” the man chuckles. “This is so sweet, but you really don’t have to do this. I mean, those were used toys anyways.”

“Well, sure, I don’t have to, but I _want_ to—and it wasn’t me who baked those cookies. My boys did,” the granny counters, and the tone of her voice, as well as the posture of her body, make it obvious that the driver has no other choice but to accept the self-made cookies.

“Thank you so much,” he gives up, smiling widely, “I am sure I will love them! Though I really should cut down on sweet things…” he adds amused.

The granny—Hilda—laughs. “Life is too short to cut down on cookies! So you better dig in and tell me what’s your favourite tomorrow, sweetheart.”

“Oh, I will!” the bus driver accepts, and only resumes their ride once Hilda is safely in her seat, with a happy smile on her face.

Levi listens to the driver exchanging a few pleasantries with the nurses, handing them a coupon for two cups of coffee at one of the cafés at the main train station they will reach in just a few stops, and the pair of women lights up immediately.

“Are you sure, though? You like coffee yourself, don’t you?” one of them faintly protests, but the blond driver just smiles.

“Oh, I never even have the time to get to that café,” he says, ever so charming, waving it off, “and you know I always have my thermos with me. Just the way I like it.”

“With tons of sugar and two litres of milk,” the second woman comments, laughing.

“It’s called café latte,” the blond replies cheekily and the two nurses just shake their head.

“Thanks so much, though. Really.”

Levi watches the blond driver wait patiently until the older gentleman enters the bus, declining the driver’s offer of help.

“As long as I can do it by myself, I swear I will,” the man announces proudly, finally standing in front of the driver, and the man closes the door behind him. 

“It’s definitely good training, Charlie!” the driver agrees, nodding. “I hope I will still be able to live independently when I’m your age.”

“85 years and 4 months,” the older gentleman—much older than Levi suspected—declares proudly, slowly moving towards one of the seats with his walking cane, while the driver, yet again, patiently waits and whistles acknowledgingly.

“I swear you still look like 70, and Hilda agrees, doesn’t she?” the driver then comments and both older folk, now sitting closely to each other, begin to laugh whole-heartedly.

The time the driver loses when waiting for the older people and making sure everyone is seated, he makes up while driving, definitely above the city limits on some sections of his route—and that’s something Levi finds appealing, and he can’t contain a slight grin. Then, it’s time for him to get off. And when he takes a final look towards the driver, their gazes meet in the big mirror, and Levi’s heart skips a beat when the man actually waves to him again with that nice smile on his face. 

Immediately, Levi twists his head around and gets off, stomps towards his work, a strange, tingling sensation making cartwheels in his belly. And at the end of his workday, when he’s taking the bus home and watches the grumpy bus driver in his 50s being a dick to his passengers by not actually giving a fuck about anything, and Levi has to practically catch an elderly woman losing balance when that twat steers the bus way too wildly around a corner, he has to admit to himself that he doesn’t deem the blond driver annoying anymore but… endearing.

And kind of hot too.

Oh God.

Levi feels slightly embarrassed about that. He doesn’t even know why. But the guy _is_ really attractive, even if some would argue he’s not because of the few extra-kilos. But Levi was never one to care about body types—hell, he’s 160 centimetres “tall” and pale as a fucking ghost—and he’s never had a problem with his partners being bigger than him in any way. Besides, the slight chubbiness of the blond driver actually _really_ suits him, and Levi doesn’t even know why. Maybe it’s because it’s a sign that this man has a settled, cosy life, and isn’t obsessed with his looks like so many guys are, running to the gym like crazy, feeding themselves protein shakes and shit, while the bus driver munches contentedly on cookies baked by Eren and Armin, cuddling with his wife, while watching a nice TV show in his super cosy house and-

And what the fuck is Levi even thinking?

The good ones are always straight— _that’s_ what he’s thinking. But _why_ is he even thinking about the bus driver in _that_ way?

And why can’t he stop?

Why can’t he stop thinking about all those smiles the blond paints on all these people’s faces, making their day, showing interest, heightening their mood, helping them, spreading joy on ungodly hours of the fucking day?

It makes warmth spread inside of Levi’s chest. A certain kind of warmth he hasn’t felt in a long time. And it’s thrilling. And scary too. Because Levi doesn’t want to develop a silly crush. But he wants to talk to the man. He’s thinking about it the whole freaking weekend alone in his flat, playing video games and reading books and horny fanfiction. And when it’s Monday morning and the doors of the bus open, Levi is determined to actually engage in some sort of small talk with the man too.

But he’s not looking into big blue eyes. He’s not looking into that friendly face. He’s not seeing that big smile. Instead of the tall blond man, Levi’s actually staring at that dickhead of a bus driver from the other day, staring back at him in an annoyed fashion.

“Ticket,” the man grunts, and Levi is so fucking angry when he presents the required document to the man, stomping to the very back of the bus after, fuming. Because he’s disappointed. And that’s kind of pathetic, and this is why he is fucking angry even though he shoudn’t be, as this is a very immature kind of behaviour and he’s 38 and not 18, but he can’t help it—he’s sulking and he hates it, and it’s the first time he actually just wants to go back to bed instead of having to go to work because his day is fucking ruined and-

And he’s really pathetic.

Just when he’s about to put on his headphones on to immerse himself in music, granny Hilda’s voice catches his attention, and his eyes dart towards the woman who’s asking the bus driver: “But where is Erwin?”

_Erwin._

“He’s ill,” the driver—obviously a replacement—says.

“Oh what a shame! I hope he’ll get better soon,” the woman exclaims, and receives no answer from the bus driver, who doesn’t even wait for the elderly woman to sit down but immediately steps on the gas, and Levi watches granny Hilda grab onto one of the poles for dear life; and he’s super pissed.

“Oi!” he screams from the back of the bus, already stomping towards granny Hilda as the bus continues to move. “Can’t you fucking wait until she sits down, you pisshead?!” The driver doesn’t respond and Levi tuts, helping Hilda into one of the seats.

“Oh, thank you, dearie,” the woman mutters, smiling.

“No problem, ma'am.”

Hilda chuckles.

And Levi can’t get that name out of his head.

_Erwin._

He feels a bit like a stalker when he’s home after work, googling the name in various combinations, adding the bus company’s name. And he’s actually astounded that he’s successful in uncovering a very obvious Twitter profile. 

The driver’s name is simple and almost a tiny bit embarrassing: _bus_man_. And so is the bio: “My name is Erwin and I love busses and driving them.” There’s a bus emoticon next to the bio as well as a heart. 

Yeah, this is definitely embarrassing. And also super endearing, and Levi can’t help but scroll through all of Erwin’s tweets.

Just like the bio suggested, all of Erwin’s tweets are about busses. And driving them. He posts pictures of stops, of his lunch with the big steering wheel in the background, pictures of the busses he is currently driving—as well as pictures of himself in front of them, horrific and at the same time super cute selfies capturing his dorky smile. He also posts little facts about new busses and their many variations, retweeting news about their production, articles about bus drivers’ stories, retweeting any tweet of his company, as well as pictures of his weird collection of bus “toys”—and Levi didn’t even know that that was a thing. He’s heard of passionate model train collectors. Now he knows that there are also passionate model _bus_ collectors. Well, at least one of them.

Erwin.

Erwin, who is also posting some of his thoughts. Which are kind of endearing too. They make Levi cringe a bit too, because they are… Well, they are actually super uncool.

...but still _so_ endearing.

“If I was a bus, I think I’d be a double decker.”

“Funny how I never get lost when driving a bus, but let me out to go somewhere on foot and I lose any sense of direction within the first five minutes.”

“Saying hello to your bus driver really makes his day! #lovemyjob #lovemypassengers”

“I’m a police officer because I love donuts. But I don’t have a big gun. I have a big bus.”

“I watched 'My Neighbor Totoro' yesterday, there was a cat bus!!”

Levi feels very weird reading those tweets. But he can’t stop. They are super lame, the jokes are really bad, and still… And still he finds it somehow… cute?

“I almost had an accident today because a fellow driver was looking at their phone while driving. Good thing I always drive extra carefully!”

“I’m BUSy. Pun intended.”

“I think more bus lanes in cities would be a good idea. They reduce accidents and increase traffic flow.”

“Happiness is a window seat on a bus.”

“Why didn’t anyone take the school bus to school? It wouldn’t fit through the door. xDDD”

“Don’t throw me under the bus—throw me INTO it.”

“They see me rollin’.”

“Beauty, Uniqueness, Speed—BUS.”

Levi rolls his eyes and he hates the fact that he’s actually started to… smile. Though he feels a tad sorry for Erwin, for the man has been on Twitter for over ten years and he’s got only 80 followers, and very little likes. That doesn’t, however, stop the man from tweeting multiple times a day.

“Who do you like more, train drivers or bus drivers, vote below!” The answer is devastating: 90 percent chose the train. “You just haven’t met the right bus driver yet,” is what Erwin says to that. 

The posting below is a picture of a coffee mug saying 'best bus driver ever' with the excited caption: “Look what a lovely gift I got today!” with ten heart emoticons. And below _that_ picture is a snapshot of cookies in the shape of busses, definitely made by children—Eren and Armin. “Hilda’s grandsons are the best! #loveyourpassangersandtheywillloveyou”

And then Levi sees something that actually catches his attention even more. Because Erwin retweeted quite a lot of postings celebrating the anniversary of same sex marriages in Germany. And the majority of those postings include pictures of gay men at the altar, and seeing this, Levi’s heart starts racing and his hands turn sweaty and he-

What in the fucking hell is he doing?!

He follows Erwin.

And he likes all of his recent postings.

The dumb jokes, the super lame comments about traffic safety, the pictures of busses and his toy/model collection—and the retweets about same sex marriage.

And then, Levi receives a notification informing him that Erwin followed him too.

“Oh fuck,” he mutters, the light feeling of nervousness grasping his core; and he doesn’t even know why. It’s not like he reveals a lot about himself on Twitter, anything embarrassing. So, there’s his profile picture that actually shows his face in black and white. And so Erwin knows it’s him. Well… _Good._

Other than that Levi mainly just retweets stuff that he likes. News from his favourite rock bands, funny stuff (really funny stuff, not that lame sense of Erwin-humour...), and, well, LGBT-related postings. And one of those, Erwin gives a like—and Levi’s heart does a funny thing in his chest.

A few hours later, when Levi checks out Erwin’s Twitter again, he sees a new posting, about an ongoing bus exhibition in their city and their latest addition: some sort of historic omnibus. 

“I really need to see this when I get better, being sick at home sucks,” is what Erwin twitters, adding a lot of crying faces. 

And Levi devises a plan.

It takes a few days for him to actually be able to carry it out, because Erwin is sick for the whole week and different drivers fill in for him.

Levi hates all of them.

And he can’t stop checking Erwin’s Twitter profile out, liking all postings about his well-being, even commenting on one, sending him get-well wishes; and he’s kind of embarrassed when he feels his heartbeat picking up upon receiving a notification that Erwin’s liked his comment. Even more when the blond driver thanks him, adding a pink heart.

“Jesus fuck,” he mumbles, throwing his phone across the bed, rolling his eyes at his own silly behaviour, admitting to himself that he has fucked things up.

Because he’s _balls deep_ into a silly crush on that driver. 

Levi can’t even explain why he feels so drawn to that man he deemed super annoying upon first meeting him. Or maybe he can? Because maybe it’s because he’s always been into tall people? Maybe it’s because he likes blond men with blue eyes? Maybe it’s because he enjoys the way Erwin talks to people? Treating everybody in the same, caring way? Like everybody's an equal? Making everybody feel special? Heard? Feel like they… matter? Maybe it’s because Erwin seems to be the complete opposite of Levi? 

It is what it is: Levi has a crush. And after seeing those same sex marriage retweets as well as some other gay-related stuff on Erwin’s profile, Levi’s pretty sure the blond is into men too. And then why the hell should he not try his luck, huh? What could go wrong?

A lot.

Because Levi sucks at communicating, at human interactions, because he can cuss and swear at people and tell them how much he thinks they suck without any problem, but meaningful exchanges with individuals he likes—crushes on—make him nervous as fuck, make him act like a weird, brainless… fart. So, when, after a week of Erwin’s absence, the door of the bus opens, and the returned blond man greets him with the biggest smile ever on his face saying to Levi “Hey there, Twitter-friend! Did you miss me? I sure missed seeing you!”, Levi can’t say shit. It’s a fucking miracle he manages to respond with a “hey, good to have you back”. And instead of sitting down on the seat closest to the driver, directly at the door, from which you can actually see and talk to the driver the best—which was the fucking plan!—his legs carry him back to the very end of the bus, because being called “Twitter-friend” and being informed that Erwin has “missed” him, cause Levi’s solitary brain to short-circuit. 

He’s determined to carry out his plan the next day, but when Erwin greets him with that big, happy smile again, actually handing him a freaking, big donut, because the bakery he gets his breakfast at before they even open their door—old friends of him, as Erwin explains—just gave him too many as a present. 

“And I really need to cut down on sugar because my pants are starting to get too small for me. Again,” the blond man explains, laughing. “And you are so slim, that donut won’t hurt you. Am I right?”

“Uh…” 

And that’s Levi’s chance!

“Yeah. Th-Thanks… Uh. Yeah.”

And the chance is gone. Because his legs are already carrying him to a seat further at the back of the bus while his mind is still proceeding in trying to come up with something to say, but it’s also way too distracted by processing that sweet gift Erwin’s given to him. 

“Fuck,” he curses, once he’s gotten off the bus, watching Erwin drive off, while he’s talking to the older gentleman who sits in the front seat. The one Levi was supposed to take. And didn’t. Again.

And everyday, it’s the same: Erwin smiles at him, greeting him, asking how Levi’s doing, and Levi wants to respond like a freaking normal human being and ask him out. But he can’t. And then, it’s Friday, and Levi’s already standing at the bus stop way before 4 in the morning, way too early, freezing his ass off and hoping that the cold will actually help him to focus on the task, because this is this week’s final chance of asking Erwin out and this is also why he cannot miss the bus and that’s why he’s early. And after a few minutes he’s pretty much amazed to actually hear a bus coming closer now, because the 4.15 bus is the first bus of the day, and when he turns his head to look at it, Erwin’s waving to him, stopping the vehicle and opening the doors.

“I knew it was you!” he exclaims as Levi’s staring at him, rather confused. “Hop in!” Erwin encourages, and when Levi does, the doors close behind him and Erwin actually turns off the engine of the car. Because technically, his ride hasn’t even officially started yet. 

“What the hell are you doing here so early?” it slips out of Levi’s mouth before he can stop himself.

Erwin smiles. “I saw you lurking around here when I passed the station on my way to my bus, and I didn’t want you to stand alone in the cold. It’s much warmer inside, don’t you agree?”

Levi nods, hating himself for being this nervous all of a sudden, with his heart doing strange things and his hands feeling kind of sweaty despite it being winter already. 

“Thank you,” he manages to utter.

“Oh, you’re very much welcome. Finally Friday, huh?”

And. This. Is. His. Chance.

They are alone. Alone. On the bus. Which won’t be moving for another quarter of an hour. For God’s sake. 

This is Levi’s chance. And hell, he will take it. Because the prospect of being pissed off with himself for the whole bloody weekend of not having had the fucking balls to aks that guy out is just way too shitty. And so Levi calls upon all his strength and forces himself to open his crappy mouth—all the rehearsed and socially accepted lines he’s been trying to memorize are forgotten.

“You’re going to the crappy museum to see that bus exhibition this weekend, or what?” His heart is pumping so fast, he’s astounded he hasn’t stuttered.

Erwin blinks, and after a second of confusion, sending Levi to fucking hell, his face lights up. “I, uh, I was thinking about it.”

“Okay, I’ll see you there. Does ten in the morning sound okay?”

Levi doesn’t understand how this is even possible, but Erwin’s big smile widens even further. “That sounds awesome, Levi.” And this is the first time Levi hears his name being spoken by Erwin, and even though this is technically an insignificant happening, Levi’s emotional world is instantly in turmoil; for Erwin’s soft and warm voice, paired with his gentle and genuine smile, it’s… He has no words for it. He feels like he’s flying, his body weighing nothing, surrounded by fluffy clouds, the burden of all his real life problems lifted like a broken curse. “So, you’re into busses as well?” Erwin asks, enthusiastically as always.

“Yes,” Levi hears himself answering, and-

Wait. 

What?

What is he saying?

Why is he lying?

“That’s so awesome! Have you ever been to that museum? It had super fun exhibitions about traffic too.”

“Yeah.”

Stop.

What?

He’s never been to that museum. Actually, Levi’s never been to _any_ kind of museum. What the fuck is he talking about?

But now he can’t go back.

Fuck.

“Oh, I have donuts again!” Erwin exclaims, rummaging through his bag, handing Levi one again. “You said you liked the chocolate one, so I made sure they gave me one again.”

Levi hated it. He _hates_ chocolate. He hates donuts. But when Erwin had asked him about the donut he said he loved it. Just like he had accepted it when Erwin gave it to him.

“Thank you.”

He’s such an idiot.

“Why don’t you take a seat, we can have breakfast together!” Erwin suggests, pointing at the front seat. The one Levi has been trying to sit in for the whole fucking week. And finally, he’s claiming it, watching Erwin devour two of those horrifyingly sweet and fatty pastries, drinking coffee too. And Levi’s glad he doesn’t offer him any. Because he really hates coffee, but he’d probably say yes, because he’s a dumb motherfucker.

Erwin talks about his baker friends, some individuals named Hange and Moblit, and how the first one loves to experiment with pastries and how Erwin’s their guinea pig. 

“They made me the perfect birthday cake this year.”

“When?” Levi enquires, wanting to know Erwin’s birthday.

“Just a few weeks ago.”

“How old are you now?”

Wait.

He didn’t say happy birthday. Fuck.

“I turned 41. How old are you, Levi?”

“38.”

Fuck.

He didn’t say it again. And now it would be just awkward, wouldn’t it?

“Ah, we’re not so far apart! And I was almost right. I estimated you to be in the middle of your thirties. Yay to me!” Erwin answers, chuckling, stuffing the last piece of donut into his mouth.

And it’s really too late to throw in a ‘happy belated birthday’ now, is it?

Fuck.

Why is he so shit at this?

“Huh.”

Yeah, he pretty much sucks at this.

“When’s your birthday?” Erwin asks.

“25th of December.”

“Oh wow, Christmas miracle, huh?” Erwin teases, chuckling softly. “Let me guess: As a kid you received only _one_ present, for Christmas _and_ your birthday. Am I right?”

“Yeah.”

Erwin laughs. “That must have been so unfair.”

What is unfair is the fact that Levi is unable to talk like a guy at the end of his thirties should be, and is embarrassing himself right the fuck now. 

And the ship of congratulating Erwin has definitely sailed.

Erwin talks some more about his baker friends, how they make the best _Franzbrötchen i_ n town—sweet cinnamon-flavoured Northern German pastry—and he swears he could eat them everyday. And yeah: Levi hates _those_ too.

“I can get you one for tomorrow!” Erwin exclaims.

And Levi says: “Cool.”

Because he’s a moron.

But he’s reached his goal despite being a social disaster. He’s going out with Erwin. Tomorrow.

“Oh yeah,” Erwin says before Levi has to get out after his weird but also very pleasant morning, witnessing Erwin’s interactions with his regular passengers, and finally being a part of them too. “We should totally swap numbers.”

Levi’s insides are in turmoil and he feels like he’s about to be sick and at the same he’s so happy he thinks he’s going to fucking scream. 

“Uh, yeah.”

Wow. Could he sound any _more_ untouched?

Erwin doesn’t seem to care though. “Awesome!” is what the bus driver says, telling Levi the digits the black-haired is saving into his phone, sending Erwin a short text after to finalise the swap. “Have a great day, Levi,” Erwin bids him goodbye then, letting Levi out of the front door, and when the black-haired looks into those big, blue eyes, and he sees that warm smile on Erwin’s face, he knows his descent to crush-hell has been finalised too.

Because all he thinks about for the rest of the day are those eyes, those lips, those big eyebrows, the strange nose, that blond hair, that slightly chubby face, and the man’s big hands on that steering wheel; and he’s feeling on edge. In a good way. In a bad way too.

Because he is crushing _hard_ on Erwin.

 _So_ fucking hard.

And when Erwin sends him a text in the afternoon, telling Levi that he’s super excited about going to the museum tomorrow, Levi can’t fucking sleep. 

Yeah.

He’s in hell.

_Hell._


End file.
